After a full day of being pounded by a blizzard, the skies abruptly clear and clouds part to reveal a stunning sunset sandwiched between wintry clouds and snow covered trees. What’s a geek to do but pull over and squeeze off a few shots 🙂

A lone maple stands statuesque against the winter sky

White PInes covered under recent snowfall offer an idyllic glimpse of winter in New England

To the rest of the world it’s a gravestone, but to folks from Quincy and those from the South Shore of Massachusetts, it’s a familiar landmark, similar to one that formerly graced the grassy rotary on the Quincy side of the Fore River bridge. As young kids riding up route 3A on family trips to Grammy’s house in Quincy, we knew as soon as we approached the “Singing Bridge”, that the “Shiny Ball” lay just beyond. Sadly, the Singing Bridge in all it’s art-deco splendor has been dismantled and a temporary erector-set structure stands in its place. The original “Shiny Ball” has been moved to a place of prominence in front of Quincy City Hall, a quiet reminder of Quincy’s distant quarrying past as the premiere source of black granite. This photo is of a similarly sized “shiny ball” (6-8′ diameter) used as a gravestone in the Mount Wollaston Cemetery … “granite spoken here.”

Stripers corner baitfish in a blitz below the Mill River rapids on the outgoing tide. Jules & James rush out onto the rocks to try their luck. Not long after James hauls in a schoolie, Jules does the same. Her first Striper ever!